Thoughts on Life, Love, Politics, Hypocrisy and Coming Out in Mid-Life

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Trump Is Not Above The Law

America again needs to affirm that no one is above the law.

In an editorial today the New York Times editorial board reminded all of a reality that separates American democracy from a dictatorship: the principle that no citizen is above the law, not even the occupant of the White House. What is disturbing is that many Republicans, especially members of Congress, seem to have forgotten this principal. Once upon a time - think the Watergate era - Republicans had not forgotten this crucial principal. Frighteningly, we may be about to reach a moment of truth where either congressional Republicans will put America and the rule of law first or put their party and Der Trumpenführer first and push America on the road to autocracy. The only possible bulwark against this fate, if it comes to pass, is to flip both the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to the Democrats. Here are editorial excerpts:

“This
great nation can tolerate a president who makes mistakes,” declared Senator
Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican. “But it cannot tolerate one who makes a
mistake and then breaks the law to cover it up.”

No,
Mr. Hatch wasn’t talking about Donald Trump. It was
1999, and he was talking about Bill Clinton.

Now
Mr. Hatch and his fellow lawmakers may be approaching a harsher and more
consequential test. We quote his words not to level some sort of accusation of
hypocrisy, but to remind us all of what is at stake.

News
reports point to a growing possibility that President Trump may act to
cripple or shut down an investigation by the nation’s top law-enforcement
agencies into his campaign and administration. Lawmakers need to be preparing
now for that possibility because if and when it comes to pass, they will
suddenly find themselves on the edge of an abyss, with the Constitution in
their hands.

Make
no mistake: If Mr. Trump takes such drastic action, he will be striking at the
foundation of the American government, attempting to set a precedent that a
president, alone among American citizens, is above the law.

What can seem now
like a political sideshow will instantly become a constitutional crisis, and
history will come calling for Mr. Hatch and his colleagues.

Until
the last few weeks, Mr. Trump had shown restraint, by his standards, anyway. He
and his lawyers cooperated with investigators. Mr. Trump never tweeted directly
about Robert Mueller, the special counsel, and spoke about him publicly only
when asked.

Alas,
that whiff of higher executive function is gone. Mr. Trump is openly attacking
both Mr. Mueller and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, appointed by
Mr. Trump himself. Mr. Rosenstein is overseeing the Russia investigation and
signing off on Mr. Mueller’s actions.

He
may choose not to fire either man. We know he has already twice told his aides
he wanted Mr.
Mueller fired, only to be talked out of such rash action.

But
if the president does move against the investigators, it will be up to Congress
to affirm the rule of law, the separation of powers and the American
constitutional order. The miserable polarization and partisan anger that have
been rising in American life for decades will hit a new crescendo, and that
will present congressional Republicans with a heavy burden indeed.

Maybe
— and this is the scariest contingency to contemplate — Republican leaders
would calculate that with their support, or mere acquiescence, Mr. Trump could
get away with it. The overwhelming majority of Americans, including most
Republicans, want
Mr. Mueller to keep his job, and perhaps a groundswell of revulsion at
unchecked presidential power would follow any action against the special
counsel.

We
can be fairly certain that the pressure on Republican lawmakers from the
minority of Americans who support Mr. Trump, as well as from the likes of Fox
News and Sinclair, would be intense.

A
few senior Republicans have been saying the right things — including Mr. Hatch.
He tweeted
that anyone telling the president to fire Mr. Mueller “does not have the
President or the nation’s best interest at heart.” Senator Lindsey Graham, of
South Carolina, warned
Mr. Trump that firing Mr. Mueller would be “the beginning of the end of his
presidency.”

That’s
all necessary and good. But it’s not enough. More Republicans need to make it
clear that they won’t tolerate any action against either man, and that firing
Mr. Mueller would be, as Senator
Charles Grassley said, “suicide.”

[S]hould
Mr. Trump move to hobble or kill the investigation, he would darken rather than
dispel the cloud of suspicion around him. Far worse, he would free future
presidents to politicize American justice. That would be a danger to every
American, of whatever political leaning.

The
president is not a king but a citizen, deserving of the presumption of
innocence and other protections, yet also vulnerable to lawful scrutiny. We
hope Mr. Trump recognizes this. If he doesn’t, how Republican lawmakers respond
will shape the future not only of this presidency and of one of the country’s
great political parties, but of the American experiment itself.

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Out gay attorney in a committed relationship; formerly married and father of three wonderful children; sometime activist and political/news junkie; survived coming out in mid-life and hope to share my experiences and reflections with others.
In the career/professional realm, I am affiliated with Caplan & Associates PC where I practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning (Wills, Trusts, Advanced Medical Directives, Financial Powers of Attorney, Durable Medical Powers of Attorney); business law and commercial transactions; formation of corporations and limited liability companies and legal services to the gay, lesbian and transgender community, including birth certificate amendment.

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